Konkani Muslim

Konkani Muslims کونکنی مسلم are a sub-ethnic group of the Konkani people living in the Konkan region of western India, who practise Islam.

The Konkani Muslim community forms a part of the larger Indian Muslim demographic and are predominantly located in the Konkan division of the Indian state of Maharashtra. This includes the administrative districts of Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

There is a diaspora Konkani Muslim community based in Arab Persian Gulf states, United Kingdom and South Africa. A chunk of Konkani Muslims migrated to Pakistan after 1947 and are based in Karachi as part of the Muhajir community.

Since antiquity, the Konkan coast has had mercantile relations with major ports on the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Konkani Muslims can trace their ancestry to Arab traders who visited the coast in the medieval era. Ancestry formed the basis for social stratification: direct descendants of Arab traders formed an elite class over those who had indirect descent through intermarriages with local converts to Islam.

Konkani Muslims follow the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic law. This is in contrast to the rest of North India and Deccan regions whose Sunni Muslims adhere to the Hanafi school.

Konkani Muslims speak a variety of dialects of Marathi collectively called Maharashtrian Konkani. Some of the dialects include Parabhi, Kunbi, Karadhi, Sangameshwari and Bankoti. These form a gradual linguistic continuum between standard Marathi in regions around Mumbai and Konkani language in regions around Goa.

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